Eva Squad: A Star Wars Story
by RobertoAG
Summary: Eva Squad follows Jonathan Pax, 31 year old Rebel captain. After being sent to find lost information on the abandoned Rebel bass on Hoth, Jonathan and his crew embark on a long and pivotal journey across the galaxy, hoping to stop the Empire’s secret project.
1. Prologue

DISORDER! After the destruction of The Death Star, the Empire struggles to maintain order throughout the galaxy. Worried that their defeat might bring a spark of hope for the Rebel Alliance, Darth Vader has order any and all Rebel sympathizers to be rounded up and eliminated in order to prevent anymore uprisings.

During this time, Princess Leia has ordered all of her remaining Rebel cells to attack as many Imperial Star Destroyers as possible; in the hope of finding any valuable information to aid their ongoing fight against the Empire. Little do they know, the Empire will not give up so easily...

Emilie's heart was beating rapidly, her eyes filled with her own sweat. She had no idea how long they been running. All she knew was that time was running out.

"So how long did you say this knockout gas was going to last?" Jonathan Pax shouted. Jonathan was Emilie's captain. He wasn't the kindest man nor was he a forgiving one. He was tall compared to her. He had short smooth blown hair and his eyes the same color. His body was covered with five noticeable scars. Two on his back and two on his chest. The last scar was found on his face. It was a relatively small scar to say the least. Nothing special just a small line across his left cheek. To Emilie, Jonathan just seemed to look like a regular man. Someone struggling to live in a world ruled by an Empire.

"About twenty minutes?" She said. Her heart didn't feel like it could last another minute but she knew she couldn't stop running. It wasn't going to be long before the effect of the gas start to wear off. Lucky for them she studied the layout of the ship hundreds of times before coming onboard. She knew that just around the corner was the docking bay.

"And how long has it been?" He said. His eyes focused on Emilie's old busted up watch.

"Around... Nineteen minutes," she tapped her watch a few times. "I think?" She said trying to catch her breath.

Jonathan's eyes filled up with anger. "You think!" He muttered the words, barely understandable with his gas mask on. "What do you mean, you think!"

"Just drop it, ok!" Cora Pax said to Jonathan. Cora was Jonathan's younger sister. She was only twenty years old. A hole 3 years younger then Emilie, but somehow she was still more experience then her in just about everything. Well, everything except being an expert mechanic. That title was still being hold by her. "She did her part, it's not her fault we took to long to get out of the bridge," she said without losing a breath.

It always amazed her seeing just how agile Cora was. She was fast and showed immense strength even though she looked like a regular girl. She had dark brown hair, just like her brother but unlike him, she didn't seem to have any scars around her body. Well except the one on her hand. Emilie thought. Emilie had just assumed Jonathan took good care of his sister.

Another difference between Cora and Jonathan were their personalities. Jonathan was strict, like any leader would be, but Cora was different. She was a bit more forgiving but she was also more quiet, something that her and Emilie had in common. But something about her being on this mission seemed to have contradict everything she knew about Jonathan.

Emilie could see Cora's eye shift towards her, "How far is it until we reach the docking bay?" She said.

"Not much just around this—", before Emilie could understand what had happened it was already to late. She was already on the ground before she knew it. Her foot stuck in the grips of a recently awake stormtrooper. Emilie tried her hardest to brake free from his grip but there was no hope of her escaping him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" The stormtrooper screamed. He struggled to keep Emilie down with his right hand while trying to communicate to the others with his left hand. "All unites, we have intruders in sector... Ah!"

A shot filled the hallway as everybody looked around to find the source of the blast. It was Daemora Arekson. "Come on. I bet the whole ship knows we're here." Daemora said while putting her blaster back in its holster.

Emilie didn't know that much about Daemora, the only thing she knew about her was that she was deadly with a blaster. There was no denying how talented she was.

Daemora grabbed Emilie, lifting her up out of the ground, "Where to?"

Emilie dusted herself off, "Just around this corner."

Jonathan approached Emilie, "Can you run?"

"Yeah. I'll live." She paused for a second and took a breath. "I think," she said with a sarcastic tone. The four of them began making their way to the docking bay on the lower levels of the ship. Once they arrived the four of them immediately enter their ship. After they were on board Emilie entered the cockpit, waiting there was Markus Payne.

Out of the four of them Markus was Emilie's closes friend. Before she joined Jonathan's crew, it was just the two of them. She new him for four years now. The two of them met during her earlier days as a mechanic. Although he doesn't know it, Emilie has stronger feelings for him then he knew.

"What the heck is going on?" He said confused by their sudden arrival.

"We took longer than we expected!" Emilie said trying to catch her breath.

"But, didn't you say..."

"I know what I said. Just go!" Emilie said while she sat down next to Markus.

The five of them began making their escape, dodging the incoming fire and avoiding the enemy Tie Fighters. "You said that there was only going to be minimal resistance!" Markus said to Jonathan, while trying to avoid getting them killed. "This is not minimal resistance!" He said while narrowly dodging a missile.

A voice came out from the outside of the cockpit. "Don't worry, they won't be bothering us for long." It was Daemora, she was holding onto one of the chairs, trying not to fall from all the movements the ship was making. "Any second now." She said looking out the window, staring at the Star Destroyer. "Any second now." she said one last time. A bright light filled the deep void of space. Blinding very one for a split second.

The Star Destroyer received critical damage on one of its engines, leaving it unable to move or fire. The crew, now out of harms way, began making their way into hyperspace leaving the defenseless Star Destroyer to drift in space.

"That was too close." Markus said.

"If it wasn't for Daemora, the five of us would be dead." Jonathan added.

Emilie was surprised. When Daemora separated from the group earlier on in the mission, she didn't expect her to plant bombs on the Star-Destroyer's main reactor. If it wasn't for her they would have all been dead.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you." Jonathan said. His eyes were filled with rage. "What the hell was that back there?"

I…um…I…" Emilie tried to explain herself but was frozen with fear. She wanted to answer his question but every time she spoke her words were stuck in her throat.

"Jon let it go!" Cora shouted. "If it wasn't for Emilie we wouldn't be able to get on board in the first place."

Jonathan turned his head towards his sister. "Stay out of this Cora. This doesn't concern you."

"According to Emilie, the gas was suppose to last twenty minutes. It took us twenty-two to get out." Daemora interrupted. "It wasn't her fault."

Emilie was glad she had friends to look out for her but she was wrong. The gas wore off after nineteen minutes. Not ten. Jonathan had every right to be mad at her.

"That's enough!" Jonathan shouted. "I don't care how long we took, nor do I care how long the gas was supposed to last. She told me that gassing the ship was our best choice. And that choice nearly got us all killed. If I hadn't ordered Daemora to plant bombs on the main reactor we would all be dead." Jonathan turned towards Emilie. He looked her directly into her eyes. "I'll decide later what I'm going to do with you. But until then, I don't what you anywhere near me or my sister. Do you understand me."

Emilie understood him all to very well. She wished she would of kept her stupid mouth shut when they decided to plan for this mission.

"Markus. Set the coronets to Dantueen. We'll stop there before joining up with the rest of the fleet." Jonathan said.

Markus didn't say a word. By the look he was giving, he wasn't to happy about Jonathan's attitude towards her. But never the less he still followed his orders.

Jonathan didn't seem to care how the rest of the crew felt. The only thing he did seem to care about more then the mission, was his sister.

A few hours have past since the rebel crew infiltrated his Star Destroyer. Commander Rosh Juall was inpatient, he began walking around the Star Destroyers bridge, cursing to himself for letting his guard down and for allowing any information to be stolen from his vessel. Even if the information was only minor. He knew that failure would most likely get him killed. Instead of contacting Lord Vader, he began searching for any Imperial Officer he could find in the system.

After a few minutes of struggling, a faint signal began appearing. Static was all he could hear, but after a while the static cleared up, "This is Commander Silvia Orden of the Galactic Empire. This is a private channel. Identify yourself immediately!" Although the picture on the monitor wasn't clear enough to show who was on the other side, he knew very well who she was and what it meant for him.

Rosh's throat dried, he squeezed his palms tight. "This is Commander Rosh Juall of the Galactic Empire."

"Commander Juall. And what do I owe the pleasure." She said. How her voice brought chills down his spine.

"Well, I've ran into little bit of a problem."

"Really? And what might that be?" She said.

"Well…a small group of um…Rebels infiltrated my ship and stole some…information."

"Was this information important?"

He looked at the ground "No, not really. But…"

"Have you informed Lord Vader." She interrupted.

"No, I have not." Rosh began sweating as he continued, "I was hoping that maybe you could…Um…deal with the matter. My ship received some damage and I'm currently unable to pursuit." He waited for a while and after what sounded like two small chuckles, she answered.

"So you're asking for a favor, are you not." She said. "Very well then, I will see what I can do."

Rosh, unable to speak manage to muter the words, "Thank you so much, Commander. I'm grateful that you could help."

He stood silently, hoping for that to be the end. But before he cut off his communications, Silvia responded, "Oh and one more thing Commander."

Rosh filled with fear, "Yes?"

"I do hope I could count on your support whenever it may be. We wouldn't want Lord Vader to know about this, now do we?"

"Of course not." He said.

"Good. Send me their last known coordinates and I will see what I can do." She said before cutting the communication.

Rosh grabbed his throat wondering if he made the right direction. Out of all the people, why did it had to be Silvia Orden. She has a strong reputation of using people for her own needs. I just hope it's better the confronting Lord Vader. He thought. He lowered his hand and continued managing his repairs.

After narrowly escaping death, Cora's brother decided to land on a small desolate planet. There, Jon met up with an old friend he knew during his early years as a Rebel soldier. His name was Cal Valhoun, an elderly man, but a wise one at best. Cora knew Jon respected Cal, but other then that, she didn't really know much of how the two met. The only thing Jonathan ever told her was that Cal helped him through a tough time in his life.

The planet was dry and the heat was unforgiving. Cora couldn't imagine how anyone could live in conditions like this. Yet some how Cal and his family found a way to live here. Besides the planet being in the conditions it is, being far away from the Empire reminded Cora of how her life was before she decided to help her brother with the cause.

Cal approached Cora, barely able to walk, needing a walking stick in order to move; not to mention his two grandkids that were always walking beside him. They were there to make sure Cal didn't fall over, of course Cal never liked being escorted, but at the same time he didn't seem to mind.

"My dear, how've you been?" Cal said while looking directly into Cora's eyes. Cal was old, if Cora could guess he looked to be in his late 60's to early 70's. He wore a long robe. By the look of it he seemed to choose comfort over style. Not surprising seeing as he was an elderly man living in a place like this.

"Good. You know the usual." She said while trying to keep a smile on her face.

Cal looked around for a little bit, "And where's your brother, I haven't seen him for quite sometime." He said with a smile.

"Jon, well he's..." Cora looked behind, seeing if she could spot him, "just sorting out something's. You know back in the ship." She pointed behind her, with her thumb.

Cal sighed, "That boy, always working." He said while rolling his eyes.

Cora smiled, "Tell me about it."

Cal began growing a smile across his face. Before Cora knew it, a hand was placed on her shoulder. It was Jon. He was still wearing his old dirty gloves.

"So, what were you two talking about?" He said it sarcastically. "I bet it was about me." He smiled.

The way Jon was gripping Cora's shoulder made her feel very unusual. She saw the way Jon spoke, she could see a pinch of nervousness in his voice. Cal new something about him, something Jon didn't want to share. But what could it be? She thought.

Cal laughed, "Still the same Jonathan from before." He approached Jonathan, putting his hand on his shoulder, "You haven't changed a bit." he said, not losing focus on Jon. He clapped Jon's shoulder one last time before dropping it. He began walking away. "So what brings you here." He said with his back turned. "Surely you didn't come to visit." He said still with his back turned.

Jon became stiff, crossing his arms. "Unfortunately, no I didn't. My ship received some damage. We just needed somewhere to stop for a while, in order to make some repairs." He answered.

"I see. Well, take your time." Cal turned around to face Jon, "If you need any help, my people are here if you need them." Cal said with a smile.

Cora saw the way Cal looked at Jon's eyes. It was the same look Dass gave her. After seeing this she understood what Cal meant to Jon. He was more than just a friend, he was family.

Jon nodded his head, "Thank you so much for your hospitality. I promise we won't take too long."

Cal nodded as he began walking away. The boys standing beside him helped him walk back to his tent.

"You never did tell me how the two of you meet?" Cora asked with her hands crossed.

Jon sighed as he looked back at the ship. "It's a long story." Jonathan looked at the sky, "It's getting dark soon. We should start heading back to the ship."

Cora knew that Jon was trying to avoid telling her. There was no point in arguing with him, so she nodded her head and began walking with him. It was going to be dark soon, but unlike Jon, Cora didn't really mind the night sky. "What will happen to Emilie?" She asked.

Jon took a deep breath before answering. "Look Cora. Right now I don't have the time nor the patience to babysit her. I gave her an opportunity like you said and look what that brought," She didn't like his tone but she let him continue, "I'm telling you that girl has been nothing but problems since the day she joined."

If Jon wasn't her brother she would have made him eat his words. "But it was her first mission. You can't honestly expect perfection from her."

"I'm not expecting perfection. All I expect is for her not to get me killed. I have plenty of people who want me dead as it is."

Cora didn't know if she could get him to change his mind about her. "I understand but can you please just make an exception this one time."

"I have no idea why you're trying so hard to help her out. What do you see in her anyway?" He asked.

"She seems... nice," she answered, "Plus she's the only person we know that's willing to get paid as little as you're paying her." She added.

"The only reason she doesn't question her pay is because of that pilot, Markus. She seems to have a particular fondness over him. And it seems he shares the same feelings towards her."

By the look Jon had it seemed Cora was getting through him. "So are you still going to get rid of her?" She asked.

"Of corse not. If I get rid of Emilie now I run the risk of losing Markus. And at the moment I can't afford to lose my only pilot. So for now I'll let her stay..."

Cora was thrilled to hear that. Even though she didn't like Markus, she was still glad Emilie was going to stay a little bit longer.

"But if something like this happens again, if her actions cause you or anyone else to get injured or worse, she is gone."

"It won't happen again. I know it."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Cora was relieved to know that Emilie would be staying a bit longer. She had just started becoming good friends with her these past few weeks. She didn't want to loose her and she was willing to do what ever it took to keep her with them.

"What took you two so long?" Daemora said. She was sitting on a log just outside their ship. She was removing parts of her armor. A pleasant show if she might add but by the look her brother was giving she wasn't the only one enjoying the view.

Her brother moved closer to Daemora. "We spoke with their elder leader. He said we could stay a few more days, if we wish. But I suggest we leave before morning. I don't want to cause the people of this village any more trouble then we already have."

"Well Emilie is just making some last minute repairs. I think we'll be ready by then." Daemora was never the type of person who was afraid to say or do what she wanted. Cora remembered the first day she met the beautiful redhead. She was just a regular security guard in one of the outposts of Lorta. At first she didn't seem like much, but somehow Daemora knew they were transporting illegal weapons out of Lorta at the time. But instead of alerting them to the authorities, she confronted them alone. Cora just assumed she was going to arrest them but she didn't. Unfortunately Cora didn't know that at the time. She remembered aiming her weapon at her when Daemora confronted them, but being the expert shooter Daemora is. She had already shot Cora's blaster out of her hand before she had the chance to aim her weapon. Since then Cora grew a small distaste towards Daemora. To this day she still has the scar on her hand.

But despite Daemora's questionable personality, Cora couldn't help but to admit she was beautiful. Well as beautiful as anyone could get while trying to fight the Empire. Her long flaming red hair draw more attention then it should. Her skin was a light brown color only marked by a small scar on her cheek that extended to her upper lip. And her eye were a lovely hazel-brown, perfect color for a woman like her. But even though her appearance was perfect as it could possibly be, her smell was her biggest flaw. She reeked of sweat and three week old unwashed clothes. Her stench would have scared most men but by the look her brother had, it didn't seemed he mind.

Jon glanced over to Cora before taking a deep breath. "Daemora." He said. "If you see Emilie, tell her I'm not going to get rid off her today."

Daemora didn't say a word. She simply nodded and left to find Emilie.

"Thank you." Cora said.

Jon turned his head towards the other direction. "I didn't do it for you." He said as he walked inside his ship.

A few days past since Jonathan left the planet. The day was bright and beautiful, the sound of children walking around the yard filled the sky. All the men were working on the land and all the women were either making breakfast or sitting outside there house talking about their families. Over all, the day set out to be like all the other days, until...

Out of nowhere the sky became black. The sun was blocked by a strange object. It was hard to make out what it was at first, but after a while the object became clear. A Star Destroyer hovering over the planet. All the families began running to their homes, locking their doors preparing for the worst. We aren't violent people, the most we had for weapons where shovels and pickaxes. I knew there was only one thing to do. Cal thought to himself.

Five ships came out of the Star-Destroyer, landing just outside the village. White figures began running towards them. There where five groups of stormtroopers, all lead by a figure wearing a distinctive armor. Each group had a stormtrooper captain with a distinctive shoulder pad and each group had at least six to seven men; not counting their leader.

The stormtroopers entered the village, knocking on each door and asking politely for each family to step out of their homes. Three would enter their houses, while the rest would organized the families just outside their homes.

One of the stormtrooper approached an Imperial Officer. The officer was a young woman with long braided golden hair, pail skin and deep-blue eyes. The officer was no younger than twenty-five years old. She stood firmly and confidently next to all of her soldiers. There was no doubt this woman was the one in charge. "The area is secure, no sign of any indications of Rebel activity." The stormtrooper said.

The Imperial Officer smiled. She looked around before settling her eyes on Cal. She began walking towards him, her hands behind her back. By her side where two stormtrooper, each one with distinct colors on their shoulder pads. "Good day sir. I'm Commander Silvia Orden of the Galactic Empire." She said with a smile spread across her face. She extended her hand, almost as if she where expecting him to do the same. "This is quite a lovely place you have here, Mister..."

Cal extended his hand as well. He knew that one wrong move could mean life or death. "I'm Cal Valhoun, the leader of this tribe." He said trying to hold his fake smile.

"Nice to meet you Mister Valhoun. Sorry for the intrusion. I didn't mean to scare the little ones like that. It's just a small inspection, my men won't take too long." She said.

"Oh it's quite all right. My people don't mind." Cal began to sweat a little. Lucky for him the day was warm, it didn't seem unnatural for a person to sweat in these conditions. "But if you don't mind me asking. What brings you here today commander?"

Silvia adjusted her hat as she explained. "Well I was doing my regular patrols when one of my probe droids I sent a few days ago picked up somethings very unusual."

His heart began speeding rapidly, Cal thought for sure he was going to die of a heart attack. "Could she have spotted Jonathan? Was the unusual thing Jonathan?" He thought. "And what did you pick up?" He said. Cal feared the worst, "Could she be talking about him?"

"It picked up life in what's suppose to be an uninhabited planet. A day later I sent a scout team to report what the probe had spotted. And that's when I noticed your small village. At first my men thought it was a secret Rebel base, but luckily for you I've decided to come and inspect this village personally. And seeing as my men haven't found any indication of Rebel activity, it looks like my work here is done." Silvia said.

Cal's heart felt like exploding, but he was glad she didn't know about Jonathan.

"But seeing as though this planet is suppose to be uninhabited, but clearly it isn't. I'm afraid I'm going to need to take a little bit more of your time to register you and your people, so this sort of situation doesn't happen again." She explained.

"Of course." Cal answered.

"I don't mean to be rude but do you have somewhere we could speak in private." She looked at him before letting out a big smile.

"Yes I have a cabin right over there." Cal pointed behind her. The cabin was old and a bit worn out. "It's nothing special, but it would give us the privacy we needed."

She looked at the old busted up cabin, "Perfect!" She said before she walked towards the cabin. Silvia entered the cabin, and took a second to look around. "A little bit worn out, but it will do." She took her hat off and sat down. She pointed to a chair, "Come, take a seat please."

Cal's two grandkids helped him to his seat. It took him a while to sit down, but Silvia sat there waiting. "Sorry I took so long. The years have not been kind to me." He laughed, but Silvia still sat there with a smile on here face looking directly at him.

They sat there for a few seconds in silence before she looked at Cal's grandkids. "I thought we were going to have a private conversation." She looked around one more time. "Do you see any of my men here, Mister Valhoun."

"No." Sweat began covering Cal's head.

"I think it would be nice if you could leave your grandkids outside. Until we finish our conversation of course. "

Cal looked at his grandkids, "It's ok. We won't take to long." His two grandkids left the room and as they left they closed the door behind them.

"Now!" She said while removing her gloves. "Where do we began." She looked at her tablet, "Let me see here... Ah yes." She sat perfectly on her chair, "Mister Valhoun, if you could just answer my question as honestly as possible, that would make my job a lot easier." She looked at him with a smile before continuing to write. "How many families live in your village."

"Nine." Cal said, believing that if he did what she said, maybe, just maybe, she would leave and never return.

"I see, and how many people; including yourself of course, live in this village." She said with a the same smile across her face.

"Forty-seven." He answered.

"Oh ok, all I need now is the names of all the families and the number of people living in each one." She said while writing down some notes.

"Well... um, let me see." He thought for a second. "There's my family, the Valhoun's which has six members, including myself." He took another second to think. "There's the Meday's. They only have three members. And then there's the Nevran's, they have five members... No wait, they have six." He began sweating even more.

"It's ok, take your time." She said with a smile on her face.

"Oh I'm sorry, where was I?" He said.

"The Nevran family you said they had six members. Is that correct?"

"Ah yes! Next there's the Altair's, they have four members." Silvia looked at Cal with a strange look in her eye before continuing to write.

A few minutes past. Silvia finished writing the last family on her notes before getting up. She grabbed her hat and gloves. Before she could leave the cabin, Silvia turned around and said, "Oh and one more thing." She said putting on her hat and gloves. "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm obligated to ask. You don't mine, do you."

"Of course not." Cal said.

"Have you, by any chance seen any Rebel soldiers lurking around, have you?"

Cal's heart began to pounded, "No ma'am, I have not."

"You haven't been aiding or helping them, have you?"

"Like I said. I haven't seen nor heard from any Rebels."

"Very well then." Silvia walked outside. The stormtroopers had all the villagers in a single group. They where surrounded by stormtroopers, all with their blasters pointed at them. "I'm going to say this one last time, and if you don't tell me what I need to know. I will order my men to open fire at your pathetic villagers! Now, have you seen or heard from any Rebels?" She pointed at Cal with her black leather gloves.

Cal stood there in silence. Not knowing what to do.

"Pathetic." She said before giving the signal to fire.

Cal fell on both his knees and stood there as all the people he promise to protect where being gunned down like animals. "Why?" He asked in sorrow.

"I told you to be honest with me." She said while showing him a hologram of Jonathan and his men.

As Cal stood there, he could feel a cold metal surface on his head. He closed his eyes as he saw three stormtrooper with flamethrowers approach the dead bodies.


	2. Chapter 1 (The Crew)

A year had past since Cal's death. A hole entire year since Jonathan decided to move on. Jon filled himself with work trying to escape his terrible memories. He tried avoiding the guilt he had inside. The thought of the entire village dying because of his decisions was unbearable, but no matter what he did he could never forget.

After every mission, Jonathan and the rest of the Rebels captain were forced to attend a meeting to discuss the new available missions. This wouldn't have been a problem for a year old captain, but the meeting were too long and boring. Every time he attended it was always the same process: discuss new information, explain everything in grate detail, discuss whether or not to use this new information, explain the possible missions and finally assign each one.

Lucky for Jonathan, Sam Wen was always next to him during every meeting. Jonathan and Sam were and still are good old friends. The two of them were in the same crew back when they first started. Both of them were just regular soldiers but now they captains.

Sam was only a few years younger then Jon. His short black hair and orange scarf didn't scream out captain, but never the less Sam did know how to lead his men in battle.

Sam always made sure Jonathan never fell asleep during their meetings. "Hey you're not falling asleep on me are you?" Sam said while hitting him with his elbow.

Jon fletched, he felt the heavyweight in his eyes, but did his best to look interested during the meeting. "I have no idea how you could stay awake. These meetings take forever to get to the point." Jonathan whispered.

"Nevertheless, you still have to stay awake, if not they will remove you from your position."

"Ok I'll try to see if I could stay awake, but if they don't get to the point soon, I might just resign." Jonathan said sarcastically. He folded his hands and gave himself a small pinch in order to sit through the painfully long meeting. Jonathan sat there for another hour, he waited and waited but soon the man giving the meeting finally got to a very interesting topic.

"Now, as you're all aware by now. Commander Jaws never made it out of Hoth. I know that's very sad but that wasn't the only thing lost that day." The man paused for a second. "Commander Jaws was carrying some valuable information, he planned on presenting it here today, but he never made it to his shuttle."

The crowd began whispering to each other, Jonathan leaned next Sam. "Hey, what do you think Commander Jaws was going to show us?" He said.

"I don't know maybe some secret weapon the empire was building." Sam said, his eyes where still focused on the monitor.

"Really? Another one? I don't think after we destroyed the first one they would learn there lesson." Jon said.

"Who knows, maybe next time they'll built one the size of a planet." Sam said sarcastically. Jon laughed at the thought.

The man let the crowd die down a little before continuing, "Commander Jaws was last spotted here," he pointed towards a spot on the hologram. "On one of the lower levels. Now, reports say that after the shield generator was destroyed, some hallways in the lower levels collapsed. Meaning that it's more likely that Commander Jaws was trapped and was unable to get escape the planet." The man pause for a few seconds to letting the crowd die down a little bit more. "I know this seems like a lot of work for something that might not even be there, but we need to at least try. If the planes are still in the base, then it's our mission to retrieve it." He said starring at the crowd, "Now who wants to volunteer."

The crowd began to whisper to each other, but Jonathan sat there for a while, thinking to himself before raising his hand and saying, "I'll do it."

The crowd stood in silence, only staring at Jonathan like if he were a madman. Everybody knew better, Hoth was on the Empires watch list. Going there was suicide. If the Empire didn't catch him, he would most likely die from its freezing temperatures. Nevertheless, Jonathan was determined to go. In his mind, Jon just needed something to keep him from getting depress. Sam grabbed his shoulder, bringing Jon closer to him. "Are you insane." Sam whispered. "Do what to get yourself killed."

"Relax." Jonathan said while taking Sam's hand off his shoulder. "I'll be in and out of there in a few hours. You have nothing to worry about." He said.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Yes. I think my crew can handle the freezing temperatures of Hoth."

"Ok if you say so." Sam said. Before Jon could stand, Sam grabbed him one last time. "You be carful out there." Sam added.

Jonathan stared at Sam for a second before letting out a smile and adding it with a nod. He knew going to Hoth was insane, but if he didn't go the Rebellion would have sent another crew. And if something happen to that them, the Rebels would just send another crew to save them. At least he knew his team was capable enough of handling themselves. Now his only problem was convincing them to go on this suicide mission.

After the meeting ended, the rest of the captains and commanders made their way back to the hanger bay. Jonathan was happy that the meeting was over, another minute in there and he would have been dead asleep. He was halfway out the door before he was stop by Mon Mothma. Mon, who lead the rebellion after Leia Organa rescind as general, was always the worst part of Jonathan's day. Her way of speaking just put him to sleep. If she turned out to be an android in disguise he wouldn't be surprised.

"Hello Captain. Mine if I had a word with you." Mon said, the general wore a white silk dress, not very general like attire but he didn't mind.

Jonathan wasn't really in the mood. If she wasn't a general, he would have gladly walked the other way. "How may I be of service." He said as politely as he could.

"I was surprised when I heard you volunteered for the mission. You normally never volunteer for anything. Why the change of heart?" She asked.

Straight to the question like always; he wasn't surprised, "Well I didn't see what everyone scared of. According to the information the planet is abandon. It's just a couple feet of snow. And a small chance of getting the sniffles." He said.

"That is true. There really is no real harm. I'm just glad that you're finally taking risks again captain. If you're successful, you'll be doing a great service to the rebellion."

For some reason Jonathan didn't think she was finish interrogating him. Her sudden urge to speak to him made that very clear. "Well, I'll do my best. Now, is there anything else I can help you with general?" He asked if only to be polite.

"Well there is one more thing," he wasn't surprised. He let Mon continue. "Its about your crew." She said.

"What about them?" Jonathan asked.

"Well I've been researching them and I need to know if they could be trusted?"

Jonathan didn't like where this was going. Since he joined the rebellion, he has been one hundred percent loyal. He didn't like that his team was being researched behind his back. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Since you have attributed so much to this rebellion, I was willing to over look your pilot's past." She answered.

"Markus as been nothing but cooperative since he's joined. He's giving plenty of information, more then any of your scouts." He said with a hint of frustration.

"But he failed to mention the number of rebels he'd killed when he was still serving under the Empire. Something you forgot to mention in your report when you recruited him." She said.

Jonathan didn't forget, he was aware of Markus's past, he knew the types of assignments the Empire made him do, but even with that knowledge he still trusted him with his life. "Why are you bringing this up now?" he asked with a noticeable tone. He needed to know why she ever mention this? Why was this so important to her.

"This mission is highly valuable. I needed to know if each and everyone of them could be trusted." Mon answered.

"They can. They've never let me down." Jon replied.

"Oh really," she said, "and what about Daemora?"

Jonathan was getting furious. He knew that Mon was always keeping an eye on him, but now that she was antagonizing his team, his friends, he couldn't handle it. "What about her?" He said, his tone growing with everything second.

"Nothing. I couldn't find a single thing on her. Almost as if she doesn't exist. Why is that?" Mon asked.

"Does it matter? She hasn't shown any signs of her being against us. She has work just as hard as the rest of us. Her past doesn't matter." Jonathan couldn't handle it any more, he needed to leave. He needed to be anywhere but here. "Now General, if you don't mind I have to prepare my crew for their new assignment."

"I do mind. Now shut up and listen." She said without a hint of humanity in her voice. "I don't care about you and your stupid problems. I don't care whether or not you trust your crew. If I find out that one or more of your men is conspiring against this cause. I will order their execution without hesitation. Do I make myself clear?" She said.

Jonathan didn't say a word. He simply nodded and walked away. He knew very well Mon was telling the truth. Mon cared about the cause more then anyone. But not for the reason you'd think she would. All Mon really cared about was power. She knew if the rebellion won she would be the one to take the Emperor's place. The thought of her ruling the Galaxy made his stomach turn. But he knew all too well that the war was far from over.

Emilie O'Ryan saw the captain's sister standing outside the ship, she imagined Cora was waiting for her brother to arrive. Every time Jonathan would leave to this meetings, Cora would wait outside, sometimes she would wait for hours. She didn't know why, but at the same time she never bothered to ask. "You know standing there isn't going to make him arrive any faster." Emilie said to Cora with a hint of sarcasm. "Why don't you come in for awhile. I've made soup if you're hungry." She asked

"No, I'm fine." Cora said with her hands crossed. She was leaning on some boxes that where just outside the ship. She didn't bother to make eye contact with Emilie. Instead she kept her eyes on the ground.

Emile didn't understand what type of relationship Cora had with her brother. She could only guess at the time. She couldn't imagine the type of things she had to endure when she was a little girl. Jonathan didn't seem like the type of person that could raise a little girl like her. Sure Jonathan was older then Cora by several years, eleven to be exact, but it just seem to her that Cora was the type of person who was raised alone. As sad as that sounds, she wasn't the only one.

"Thank you... By the way." Cora said.

"For what?" Emilie asked while scratching an itch on her head.

"For worrying about me."

Emilie was a bit confused "I just said..."

"I know what you said. But it means a lot to me that you asked." Cora interrupted.

"Don't mention it. I was just being nice." Emilie said while adjusting some tools on her belt. Cora smiled but kept her eyes on the ground. "Well, I'll save you a bowl." She pointed inside the ship while walking back.

Emilie could do much. She wasn't going to force Cora to tell her about her past, but at less she could be her friend. She knew Cora wasn't the type of person who normally talked about her past but it wasn't hard to have an idea of the type of life she had before all of this.

After their small but genuine conversation, Emilie made her way inside the ship and headed stay to the kitchen. Even though three-week old soup wasn't her favorite dish, she couldn't wait to reach the kitchen. She knew it wasn't the soup that was calling to her, it was something else, no, someone else. Someone she knew far to well. Someone she could imagine living without. Markus Payne.

Markus was the pilot of the ship and Emilie closes friend. He was the tallest out of five of them. Most men looked up to him, but not in the way that suggested he was their hero. His hair was dark with nice short curls. His nose was well shaped and his skin was nice and smooth. He was well taken care of for a man who spend his time sitting around. He was strong for a man with skill, but the thing most people first noticed, were his beautiful baby blue eyes.

But when she arrived to greet her best friend he wasn't alone. Sitting just beside him was Daemora Arekson. Daemora was an entirely different person. She was beautiful in every way. Her hair long and red as fire. Her eyes a sweet hazel-brown. Her skin a smooth light brown with only a small noticeable scars on her right cheek stretching to her upper lip. But the thing most people noticed first was her personality.

"The princess doesn't want to come down from her tower?" Daemora said.

"No." Emilie replied. "She said she's going to wait for the captain. I don't think poorly made soup is going to change her mind."

"Well if she doesn't want to come, then I guess I'll just have to dragger her here myself." She said as stood up from her chair.

"Let it go Daemora." Markus said. "She's just a girl. Let her wait for her brother. You won't win her over by using force."

Daemora stood there with a mean look on her face. "I just don't understand her. She's out there every time Jon leaves. And she stays there until he comes back." She said as she sat back down.

"Maybe she's just shy." He said as he took a sip from his drink.

"Maybe. But I still think it's wrong for a girl like her to be out there all by herself."

"She'll be fine. She's not as soft as she looks. Deep down she's just as tuff as you."

Out of the three of them Markus was the one who knew Cora the most. He was the only one who wasn't afraid to talk to Cora. He spend as much time with her as he possibly could. But it wasn't long before the captain found out. Markus swore he only meant to befriend Cora. But the captain didn't care. He told Markus to keep his distance. It was safe to assume Markus didn't took it too well.

Daemora smiled. "You must really know her." She said.

"I do. But not as much as you think."

Emilie sat down in front of them. She didn't really know what to say. She couldn't add much to the conversation. She didn't know Cora as well as Markus did to start a topic about her. Nor did she worry as much about her as Daemora did. All she new was that she didn't want to be left out. "So did you like the soup?" She asked admittedly regretting her words.

"It's good." Markus said with a smile across his face.

"It's terrible." Daemora replied. Markus didn't let a second go by as he elbowed Daemora in her ribs. "I mean it was good."

Emilie didn't mind the criticism. Even though apart of her regretted ever suggesting to volunteer to make the food for the day. "It's fine. I guess I could fix a broken down ship. But a simple dish like soup is just out of my league."

"You should never be allowed in the kitchen ever again. I honestly don't know how you lasted four years with her." Deamora said.

"Well Markus did do most of the cooking." Emilie said.

"Four years. How is it that the two of you aren't a couple yet?" Daemora asked with an evil smile across her face.

Emilie didn't know what to say. She could feel her face turning red. But she knew she couldn't walk away. Markus wasn't to happy about the question either. He looked at Daemora with a heavy face. There wasn't anything wrong with the question. The answer was quiet simple. But she knew Daemora all too well. She knew that there were more questions lining underneath.

"Markus and I are just good friends." Emilie said.

"I would assume so," Daemora said. "But I'm not doubting your friendship. I was just wondering if you two shared any deeper feelings for each other. It's a short life we live." Daemora turned to look at Markus for a second. "We wouldn't want to die with any regrets."

Emilie knew what she was saying. There was never a moment where she didn't what to tell him. She wished she could. She wish she could just grab him across the table, hold him tightly and tell him how she felt. How she really felt. But she knew she couldn't. She knew his heart belong to someone else. Someone more beautiful then her. Someone he knew a lot better then her.

"That's enough Daemora." Markus said.

"Well I guess I was wrong." She said as she stood up from the table. "I'll get out of the way." Daemora left to the table on the far side of the room.

Emilie wasn't mad at her. She was only mad at herself. It's my fault for making it so obvious. She thought to herself. Before she could leave, a pair of soft hands grab her across the table. Even though she hand gloves on, she could still feel his smooth fingers gripping her hand tightly. "Don't let her get to you," Markus said. "It doesn't matter if I love you as a friend or as a lover. I'll never leave you. I promise."

Emilie wished she could hold his hand forever. Wished she could be his forever. But she knew she would never be with him forever. The only thing she could do was enjoy the small moment she had with the man she loved.

A few minutes went by until Jonathan finally arrived at his ship. He saw Cora standing next to the entrance, like she always did. "You know we have chairs inside?" He said.

"What took you so long?" Cora said to Jonathan as he walked by her.

Jonathan could only imagine how long Cora stood outside the ship waiting for him to arrive, but he didn't have time to stop and think. His Commander only gave him one hour to prepare. "Oh you know how these things go. Empire bad, Rebels good. I'll tell you the rest on the ship." he said while clapping his arm on Cora's shoulder. She rolled her eyes as she followed behind him.

Jonathan ran up to the center of the ship and looked around for a while. "Where is everybody?" He asked.

Cora pointed towards a door that led them to the small kitchen they had on board. "There probably still eating." She answered.

Jonathan walked up towards the door and opened it. The door slid open to reveal Emilie and Markus eating while having a small conversation. He wasn't surprised. The two of them never missed a chance to just sit down and talk, he wouldn't mind but their conversations last hours.

Jonathan never really liked Emilie. He found it hard to believe a girl like her could of survived as long as she did without having to do something she might regret. He felt as though she was hiding something, maybe a dark secret she didn't want him to know. But he could just be wrong. Maybe she could just be a normal girl trying to make a living, if that were true then he would feel guilty for treating her so badly.

On the far side of the room was Daemora, she was sitting there cleaning one of her blasters. She had a tendency of keeping her blasters clean, he didn't know why but he didn't want to questioned it. "Well someone finally decided to show up." Daemora said to Jonathan. "For a second I thought you died of boredom." Daemora was the type of woman who didn't take orders too kindly. The first few months working with her were hell. She was disobedient and reckless, but despite her faulty attitude, he needed her. He'd considered himself to be quiet well with a blaster, but she was on a hole other level. He'd seen her shoot three stormtroopers in a span of 2 seconds from a mile away, all of them headshots. It was safe to say he wanted her on his side.

"Ha ha. Very funny. I'll have you know that those briefings are very interesting and informative." He lied. Daemora rolled her eyes and continued cleaning her blaster. "Ok people gather around." The room stood in silence.

"Jonathan, we're all here." Cora said.

"I know that." He'd lied. "Well I have some important news to tell you all." He stood in silence for dramatic effect. "We've been assigned to retrieve some lost information from a planet." He thought if he kept the planet vague then his team wouldn't ask any questions.

"In what planet?" Daemora asked.

Damn it. He thought to himself. Daemora was always the type of person to ask a million questions, question some people didn't want answered. At times he'd wish she could be a little bit more like Emilie in that department, never asking questions and always followed orders. "Hoth." He answered.

"And what's so important in Hoth that we have to risk our skins in order to retrieve it?" She asked.

Jonathan stood there in silence with his arms crossed. "Yeah, they don't know what it is either. But they said it was important."

Daemora rolled her eyes.

"Look it's not that complicated. Reports say that the planet has been abandoned for over a week now, so that means we could land without a problem. The only thing we have to worry about is the freezing temperatures." Everyone stood in silence. "Look we're getting paid whether we find it or not." He said.

Jonathan never considered himself to be a great leader. At best he was a competent leader but he knew there was still room for improvement.

Cora stepped forward. "I'm in."

"I'm in too." Emilie said with a mouthful.

"Well you need a pilot so I'm in." Markus said.

Even though his team wasn't perfect. Even though at times he wished he could just jump off a bridge and end it all. He knew his team was still there. But there was still one person who wasn't on board. One person he couldn't imagine leaving into battle without. Daemora.

She sat there, quiet as could be. This woman just wants to see me suffer. He thought. "Sure. Why the hell not." She smiled. The thinks I put up with.

"Well then we leave in one hour." He smiled. He didn't want to tell Daemora and Markus about his little encounter with Mon Mothma. But he knew he will eventually. For now all he could think about was Emilie's homemade soup. "Ok then what's there to eat?"

"Soup." Cora said.

"Well then. What are you three staring at? Serve me a boll." For some odd reason Markus, Emilie and Daemora just sat there staring at him with a blank face. "Come on then. Do I have to order you guys to serve me a plate." Still no response. With Jonathan lack of patience he grabbed the spoon and served himself a boll. Before he took the first bite he saw Emilie trying to say something but it was too late.

The awful taste the soap had was completely revolting. He could had sworn he was eating shit. He spat the spoonful almost instantly. If he mother didn't teach him better he would have thrown it all towards Emilie. But the ground would do.

He wanted to speak, no yell. He wanted to say every last insult he possibly knew but every time he spoke a bit of vomit would come out. He stood there trying to keep his inside from coming out. But every attempt was pointless. He ran straight towards the sink and buried his head as far in as he possibly could. He didn't care if there was still dishes in there, he could careless.

After his stomach was finished giving itself in, he went directly to the cabinet. He tried looking for anything to wash down the godawful taste in his mouth. Water, Blue Milk, anything. He didn't care. To his luck an unused cup of water was near by. How he hated this moment. If this was an attempt on his life he didn't know what was.

"What the hell was that?" He said.

"Soup?" Emilie answered. She trying to hide behind her precious Markus. But even he couldn't stop him from getting to her. He could hear Daemora laughing from her corner. He could see Cora resisting to hold her own laughter in.

"I know it was soup. But what the hell was in it?" He screamed.

Emilie muttered her words around before she could finally learned to speak. "I don't know. I— I just followed the recipe that was in the paper you gave me." She answered.

"Did you clean out the fridge before you cooked or did you just used whatever you could find?" He demanded.

"I... um... think i just um." Emilie couldn't speak.

"Well. Which is it?" He asked one last time.

"I just used whatever was in it." She closed her eyes, expecting the worst. Markus took a step forward trying to shield Emilie from him.

He wanted her out of his ship then an there, but apart of him knew he was going to need her for this mission. And the fact that she willingly volunteered for the mission made him a bit more sympathetic then normal. "It's ok I'm not mad." He looked at Markus. "You could stop shielding her. I'm not going to do anything." Jon said.

Markus took a step back and Emilie popped out of where she was hiding. "You're really not mad?" She asked.

"You might of destroyed a little bit of my pride, but no. I'm not mad." He lied. "Now did you make anything else to eat? Despite that terrible dish you made, I'm still quiet hungry."

Emilie gave him the same smile she'd always gave him when she had bad news that involved her. "No." She answered.

All hopes of him having a descent meal quickly faded away with that simple No. He let out a small sigh before he left the kitchen. He didn't stop to look at any of them. He just left.

He walked into the hallway that hold all the room of each member of this crew. The hallway was curved, stretching around the entire ship. The first room one would past when leaving the kitchen, was Emilie's. Her room wasn't really a room. It was originally a small storage space, normally for supplies and weapons. But somehow Emilie found a way to turn it into a haft descent room. A little bit messy for his taste, but still a nice room none the less.

The room next to her's was Markus's. His had the second smallest room out of the four authentic rooms. His room wasn't special. Just a four walled room with a small closet and a small bed. He normally always kept his room clean. His closet; with what few clothes he had, was always neat. His bed tended and his personal items stored away. He lived the way you would normally expect a person who used to serve under the Empire.

Passing his room was Daemora's. Her's was the smallest out of the four real rooms. Before she came onboard, her room used to belong to Emilie. He decided to give Emilie's old room to Daemora in the hope that would get her to leave his crew. But in the end Emilie managed to find another room for her to stay in. For some reason Emilie didn't seem to mind switching rooms. The only person who really seemed to mind was Cora.

Speaking of her, Cora's room was right next to Daemora's. Her room was the second largest out of all of them. She had enough space to fit a haft decent bed, a closet and a small desk; not that she used it. Even with all that, she still had plenty of room to spare.

And at the far end lies Jonathan's room. His being of course the largest out of all of them. In his mind he thought, Of course I had to have the biggest room, I'm their leader and the owner of this ship. But even then, he still felt a little sour toward giving Emilie the smallest room.

He arrived at his room, but before he could even press the button to his door, he felt a hand pulling on his jacket. It was Emilie. Her head was facing the wall to the side of her. Her eyes focused on everything but him. He noticed her carrying a small black bag.

"Um... This is for you." She said as she handed the black bag towards him.

Jonathan didn't know what to say. He was caught off guard by the gift. "What is it?" He asked politely, not wanting to scare her off.

"It's a bag of sweets." She said. "I thought you might like them."

Jonathan was never the type who craved sweets. Sure he enjoyed them from time to time, but other then that he never thought much of them. "Is this for earlier?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm sorry for making you spill your insides out. I didn't mean to."

Jonathan didn't know whether to except her gift or reject it. Apart of him was still angry over his humiliation, but the sight of that black bag filled with unexpected goodies was just to much to give up. "Thank you." He said as he took the bag from her hands. And with just those two words, Emilie began growing a smile across her face. "I honestly don't know what else to say." He said while standing there silently.

"Don't worry . A simple Thank you is fine."

A small smile grew on his face. "You never did ask for much. Now why don't you get out of here. I don't want someone to see me treating you nice." Emilie smiled and made her way back to the kitchen. What am I going to do with her? He thought to himself.

Jonathan pressed the button to his door. The door slid open and almost in an instant all of his troubles where going. No Rebellion. No Mission. Just a nice bed to keep him warm until they arrive at Hoth.

The spinning blue vortex never ceased to amaze him. He stared at it every time he traveled through light speed. Seeing thousands of stars flying by in a single second always brought a sense of wonder to him. It was a reminder to see how far people really are from one another. And a reminder to know how fast they could reach each other.

The cockpit was alone. Like it always was. Jon never visited, unless it was necessary. Daemora stopped by from time to time, but she never stayed long. Cora was one of the few who seemed to actually enjoy navigating through the stars. But she hasn't stopped by. Not sense Jonathan forbid him from speaking to her. Other then Daemora, the only person who seems to stop by every time they could, was Emilie.

Emilie was one of the few highlights of Markus's day. Her up beet attitude and shy demeanor always seemed to put a smile on his face. Every time she came to join him, Emilie would always bring something to eat. A small snack to pass the time or an excuse to chat with him. Either way he didn't seem to mind.

Markus could only imagine how his life could have been if he hadn't crashed on that planet. He still remembered the hot flames burning him alive when his Tie-Fighter went down. If his suit wasn't made to withstand such harsh temperatures, he would have surely died that day. When he rouse from the flames, he knew he was given an opportunity at a new life, away from the Empire. It wasn't long after that when he stumbled upon Emilie. At first glance she didn't seem like much. Just another face you see everyday. But she soon became the only face he wanted to see.

There was something about Emilie that made him what to stay with her. Her short dirty golden hair, her baby blue eyes, and her smooth pail skin, reminder him of someone. Someone important. My beloved wife. He thought to himself.

Before crash landing on that planet, he had a life. It wasn't perfect, but it was still a life. The Empire demanded so much from him, he burly had time to see his wife. But the few times he did, he spent it with her. He spend every second locked up in a room with her. There were times where the two of them would spend an entire weak just locked up in their home. But since the crash, he hasn't seen nor heard from her.

Even though the crash aloud him to start a new life, apart of him still felt guilty over his wife. She never knew he'd survive the crash, nor could she. In order to keep her safe, he let his wedding ring behind. He'd assumed the Empire would just rule him dead. Assume his body burned to ash and move on with it. But he needed them to know for sure. He left the only thing they could us to identify him.

He swore he would return to her one day. At least to tell her that he still loved her and that he never stopped thinking about her. But that was four years ago. He thought to himself.

The thoughts were to sad to remember. He wanted to think of something else. Anything else.

"Nock. Nock." A soft voice said from behind.

"Emilie? I didn't think you where going to come." She had in her hands two cups of what he could only imagine as blue milk.

"I wasn't going to. But then I remembered I had nothing else to do, so I decided I'll just stop by." She extended one of the cups to him. "Warm milk?" She asked

Markus smiled and took the cup from her hand. "Is Jonathan still mad?" He asked.

"No, not anymore." She took a small sip out of her cup. "He didn't seem that angry when he left. I think he's warming up to me." She said.

"That's what you said the last time. And what happened then?"

Emilie laughed. "He gave my room to Daemora and threw me in a closet."

He laughed at the image of her being locked up in such a small space. "I think he used the word, storage space."

Emilie smiled. "Yeah. I do remember him describing it like that." Emilie sat next to Markus on the chair just beside him. "So how long until Hoth." She asked.

"An hour at best. Maybe less." He answered.

"So not long." She said.

"Not long." He said as he took a sip. The blue milk she gave him was warm. A nice touch if he might add.

The two of them sat next to one another for a while, enjoying each other's company as the two finished their drink, all the while exchanging smiles. Not a minute went by until Emilie asked Markus a question. "If you still worked for the Empire, what would your job have been during the battle of Hoth?" She asked.

A strange question to ask a man who would want nothing more then to forget all about the Empire, he thought to himself. He took a second to think. He could see the look in her eyes. He knew she was just trying to pass the time. "Well seeing as I was a pilot and not a foot soldier, I say I would be in space next to the fleet. Maybe just as a standby unit. I would assume the Empire would try and pick off any stranglers that made it out of the planet." He answered.

Emilie didn't say anything. She just sat there drinking away her blue milk, her full attention directly to him. She nodded as if telling him to continue.

"But if your telling me where I really would have been. Then that just another thing entirely. According to the records, Lord Vader and his fleet where the once who invaded the planet. I unfortunately was never in his fleet."

"Really? Then who's fleet where you in?" She asked as she put both her legs crisscross on the chair.

Markus leaned forward in his chair while scratching a small itch in his short beard. "Well let me see. The first three years I was with Commander Tenal Bardok. He was grumpy old man but he wasn't much. Just your typical Imperial Officer. There isn't much to say about him."

"What sort of assignment did you do for him?" She said.

"Not much. I just flew around most of the time. And believe it or not. I was actually quiet good at it." He said while drinking a little bit more of his blue milk. "But it was all fun and games until I got my real first orders." Markus smile faded away. The memories of his past were too horrifying. "It looks like I'm out of milk. Better go refill before we arrive."

Markus saw the look in Emilie's eyes. He knew she was smarter then she looked. She knew he was trying to avoid talking about his past. "It's okay. I'll get you more."

Markus didn't want secrets between them. He grabbed her arm before she could leave. "I'm not hiding anything... I'm just not ready to start talking about the past."

"I know." She said. "Your the only person I really trust."

Markus smiled. "I can't imagine my world without you."

Emilie smiled back. "And neither could I."

She walked out of the cockpit with both cups in her hands. He could hear her humming as she walked through the hallway and into the kitchen.

"You know, you really do make her happy." A soft voice said from behind.

When he turned around to see who the owner of the voice was, his smiling face turned into that of an irritated one. "What is it now Daemora?" He asked. He regretted answering so up tightly.

She was leaning up against the wall with her hands crossed. Her devilish smile only made him wish he was speaking to anyone else. "Is that anyway to speak to a lady?" She said. "I expected a man like you to be a more gentleman like."

Markus took a small whiff. "You sure don't smell like a lady." He said as he walked back into the cockpit. He wasn't lying. Daemora smelled of sweat, unwashed clothes, and something else that he couldn't put into words. But he didn't blame her. Out of the five of them, she was the one that got her hands dirty the most. And it didn't help that there wasn't a single shower in the entire ship.

Daemora took a second to smell herself. By the look in her face it seemed she got the point. "Well some of us don't have dozens of clothes. I burly have three matching outfits."

"Well the next time we stop at a city, why don't you buy yourself something nice?" He said.

"I don't have enough to buy new clothes."

Markus sat down in his chair and made sure that the ship was heading in the right direction. But something she said made him wonder. "And why not? I thought Jonathan payed you well." He asked.

"He does... Its complicated that's all." Markus didn't what to ask any further. He knew how it felt to be on the other side. If she wanted to tell him, she would of. "Enough about me. I came here to talk to you." He knew she was trying to dodge the question, so he played along.

"Well what is it?"

"Nothing important. You know the usual. Hi. How are you? How goes your day?" She said sarcastically.

"Knowing you I doubt that's why you're here."

"Aw. Come on now. I thought we were friends."

"We are but I somehow doubt you came here to make small talk." He said.

"And what makes you think that?" She asked.

Markus leaned back on his chair and took a deep breath. "Tell me. How long were you standing out there?"

Daemora didn't say a word for a few seconds."Ok you got me there. But it's not my fault. Every time the two you are together I'm always getting left out."

Markus didn't want to hurt her feelings. He knew she meant well. If there is a god pease tell me I'm doing the right thing. He thought to himself. "I'm sorry you feel that way." He said. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Daemora smile. "Apology excepted."

"Well seeing as we still have a ways to go. What's on your mind?" He asked hoping for the best.


End file.
